Strange Things Happening Every Day

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, 1944. Solo by Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Tharpe's amplified gospel picking on this wartime side is often cited as a direct precursor of rock and roll guitar.

Strange Things Happening Every Day is often cited as a direct precursor of rock and roll, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe's amplified guitar is the reason why. Her playing blends gospel fervour with blues phrasing, using sharp, ringing notes and confident, swinging rhythms. She plays with a joyful intensity that anticipates the energy of later rock guitarists. Her influence is now widely recognised. Listen for the bright, electric tone and how her phrases bounce with the song's swinging beat, and for the way she mixes single-note lines with rhythmic strumming, creating a sound that is both spiritual and raucous, bridging gospel and early rock and roll.

Strange Things Happening Every Day by Sister Rosetta Tharpe is ranked #248 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the song was released in 1944. It appears on 1 lists, placing as high as #34 (Rolling Stone).

In our lists

• One and Only — #47
• The Greatest Solo of Every Year — #6
• The 25 Greatest Rock and Roll Guitar Solos — #15
• Rolling Stone vs. Everyone — #10
• The Best Sister Rosetta Tharpe Guitar Solos — #1

Sources

• Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — #34